Clues About Trump's ISDS Policy

Lots of people are asking about what the Trump administration will do with investment treaties and investment chapters of FTAs. Will their sovereignty concerns mean they reject ISDS? Or will their pro-business views mean they support ISDS? This from the LA Times is one of the first reports of White House discussions that I've come across (although don't get too excited because it doesn't answer the question):

Soon after President Trump took office, an executive order was quietly drafted to suspend talks with China on an obscure but potentially far-reaching treaty about bilateral investment.

After eight years and two dozen rounds of negotiations, the treaty terms were almost in final form. Pulling out after so much time and effort would send a clear message that the Trump administration meant to take a new and tougher approach.

But the executive order never even got to the president’s desk. It was quietly shelved, according to sources inside and outside the White House, at the behest of former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, now Trump’s top economic advisor.

Keep in mind, of course, that China is special, and rejecting a U.S.-China BIT would not necessarily mean rejecting ISDS completely.

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Clues About Trump's ISDS Policy

Lots of people are asking about what the Trump administration will do with investment treaties and investment chapters of FTAs. Will their sovereignty concerns mean they reject ISDS? Or will their pro-business views mean they support ISDS? This from the LA Times is one of the first reports of White House discussions that I've come across (although don't get too excited because it doesn't answer the question):

Soon after President Trump took office, an executive order was quietly drafted to suspend talks with China on an obscure but potentially far-reaching treaty about bilateral investment.

After eight years and two dozen rounds of negotiations, the treaty terms were almost in final form. Pulling out after so much time and effort would send a clear message that the Trump administration meant to take a new and tougher approach.

But the executive order never even got to the president’s desk. It was quietly shelved, according to sources inside and outside the White House, at the behest of former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, now Trump’s top economic advisor.

Keep in mind, of course, that China is special, and rejecting a U.S.-China BIT would not necessarily mean rejecting ISDS completely.